


Pitch plays the Fool

by RoseJennison



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, But you already knew that, Gift Fic, Jack's escape plans may need some work, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pitch messed up, What if Scenario, but they could be worse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-02
Updated: 2014-04-02
Packaged: 2018-01-17 23:15:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1406197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseJennison/pseuds/RoseJennison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A gift for the talented charmed7293. Her Mob Boss AU drabble for April Fool's day gave me an idea for “How would things have played out if Jack had managed to elude Pitch's men?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pitch plays the Fool

**Author's Note:**

  * For [charmed7293](https://archiveofourown.org/users/charmed7293/gifts).
  * Inspired by [April Fools- Mob Boss AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/43219) by charmed7293. 



> I am quite fond of 'what ifs', so this fic was born. Though, a major part of this was wanting to see Pitch come to a full realization of just how bad of an idea this was.   
> The beginning is from the original story, to make sure the set up is clear. The 'what if' content starts after Jack's first spoken line.

Vaulting over cardboard boxes and skirting dumpsters, Jack followed twists and turns seemingly at random, but he knew the way to the alley that would dump him out into the busiest intersection in town, where he could lose his stalker in the crowd. He skidded around the 90 degree turn to that last alley and his stomach dropped. A tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire blocked the way near the mouth of the alley.

His pursuer was only getting closer, leaving him with no choice but to climb. Jack didn’t break stride as he ran toward the fence and launched himself at it. Managing to land halfway up, he scrambled to the top and made to swing his leg over, disregarding the barbed wire.

A hand wrapped around his ankle and pulled. One hand lost its grip and he flailed around to regain it, ending up with his fist clenched around the barbed wire. He cried out in pain as his leg was yanked again, making him tighten his grip and burying the sharp points into his palm.

Making sure he had a solid hold on the smooth bar of the fence with his other hand, Jack kicked down with his free leg, aiming for the face. He made contact with a solid thunk, but it seemed to be from an impact to the skull and only caused the person to constrict their hand.  
Jack glanced down so he could aim another kick properly, but he went slack with shock at the sight of one of Pitch’s most trusted guards.

“Xavier?” _'Why is he chasing me?'_  
Xavier gave a third tug, but Jack recovered from his shock just in time to tighten his grip and keep his perch. Still looking down, Jack took careful aim and delivered a swift kick to the base of Xavier's neck. The guard let out a strangled choke as he stumbled. Another kick was enough to make him fall, and there was a small crunch when Xavier hit the ground.

Now free, Jack scrambled up the rest of the fence and threw himself over the top. The barbed wire caught his arm, and his thin long sleeve shirt wasn't enough to protect him. Sharp points shredded the cloth and left long cuts on his forearm. Jack hissed in pain, but managed to land on his feet. He cradled his injured limb as he ran from the alleyway and disappeared into the crowd. 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Pitch paced the length of the dim warehouse. Normally he wouldn't be so antsy, but he was eager for Jack to arrive. He knew the little prankster would have planned something for the first of April, such a holiday was practically made for Jack. He couldn't wait to see Jack's face when he realized Pitch had beat him to the punch. He hadn't even told Xavier what exactly he was planning, it wouldn't do for the guard to give away the surprise.

So Pitch was quite confused when Xavier and his men walked into the warehouse Jack-free.

“What are you waiting for? Everything is set up, you can bring him in.”

Xavier stepped forward, seemingly braver than the others, but Pitch had known the man long enough to see the tension in his stance. 

“We lost him, sir.”

“Lost him?” Pitch said in disbelief. “How could you lose him? We have him chipped!” 

Jack should have been waiting in his usual place, it should have been easy for Xavier and a few of the others to go up and grab him. Even if Jack had left for some reason Xavier should have been able to find him very easily with the tracer.  
And that's when Xavier pulled out said tracer, which now sported a hopelessly cracked screen. 

“We arrived later than normal, and the target was looking around. He managed to catch on that we were following him and made a run for it. I caught him when he tried to jump a fence, but he shook me off and the tracer was damaged in the struggle.”

Huh, maybe Jack had been making better progress with his self-defense training than Pitch had thought. 

“We were able to follow the blood for a little bit, but we lost him on the busy streets.”

Pitch stiffens when he takes in the last sentence.

“Blood. Why was there _blood_ , Xavier?” The mobster's voice is cold, covering up the dread that has started to creep into him. Xavier swallows audibly.

“There was barbed wire at the top of the fence he went over, and he grabbed it when I tried to pull him down. I think he got some of it when he made it over too. You did tell us it was a standard grab, sir.” the last part is added quickly, tone becoming pleading. 

He's right of course. The men didn't know this was a prank on Jack. Pitch is just realizing how big of a mistake that was, and that he really didn't think this through. 

“Go back to the house.”

“Sir-?” 

“That's an order Xavier. Go back to the house and watch Seraphina. I'll find Jack, the rest of you have done enough.” 

Pitch doesn't stay to watch as his men rush out of the warehouse and to their own vehicle. He strides out the opposite doorway and into the alley where his limo and driver are waiting for him. Once he's inside he digs into a black messenger back sitting on the floor, and pulls out his own tracer. He turns it on and waits for it to lock onto the signal from Jack's microchip. 

He's glad the men have gone, and he doesn't need to keep the concern off his face any longer. Jack is out there somewhere; alone, injured, and probably convinced that Pitch actually wants him dead. How was he going to fix this?

Finally, the tracer has locked on. Pitch barks directions to the driver, and tries to think of some way to apologize for this.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

The tracer leads him to the small lake on the outskirts of Burgess. The warmer weather recently has allowed it to thaw, and it reflects the slight orange glow of the beginning sunset. 

Jack once mentioned that he used to play here as a child. The rocky outcroppings that surround the lake are very popular with the local children during the summer. They provide a fun but relatively safe climb, with lots of hidey holes to discover and explore. 

Which means Jack could be in any one of several dozen hiding places. 

Pitch sighs. At least Jack hadn't tried to go to the police. It would have been a hassle to have to use the few cops on his payroll to get Jack out of their headquarters. This place wasn't a whole lot smarter though. If Pitch had brought the others he could have just done a sweep to find Jack. While the hiding places in these rocks were many they weren't that deep and would be easy to check. He'd have to go over some contingency plans with Jack on where to go if he was being chased and going back to the house wasn't an option.

Once he convinced the young man to come out anyway.

“Jack!” Pitch called out. “I know you're here. I can explain what's going on, but you have to come out first.”

He waited for a minute, and got only silence. He was about to call out again when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He growled in annoyance, but pulled it out anyway. He never ignored his phone, it might have something to do with Seraphina after all. When he unlocked the screen he found not a message from his men but a text from Jack.  
Surprised, Pitch tapped the screen and opened the message. 

**-I don't think getting shot requires that much explanation. So I'll just stay here.-**  
Pitch hadn't been aware that a text could be infused with snark. It probably helped that he read it in Jack's voice. 

“I'm not going to kill you! This is all just a misunderstanding.”

**-The intent seemed pretty clear to me. What did I even do?!-**

“That's what I'm trying to tell you! You didn't do anything; you're not in trouble. Please let me explain.”

The response took longer this time. 

**-How can I trust you?-**

Now it was Pitch's turn for a long response time.

“Jack...I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I can't prove that you can trust me. But you know I would never do anything to hurt Seraphina, and killing you would do that. You're still useful to me Jack. If you can't trust me, then can you at least trust that?”

He isn't entirely sure what it is about his reasoning that does the trick, but after a minute he hears a small scuffle. A moment later Jack's shock of white hair can be seen rising from behind a rock that is midway up the outcropping to Pitch's left. 

Jack starts to make his way down, and Pitch strides over to meet him. He goes slow at first, not wanting to startle the already wary young man. But he can't stop himself rushing forward when he notices Jack's shirt has been removed and used as a makeshift bandage for his right arm. 

“Are you alright?” He asks, catching Jack as he stumbled over a small boulder. Jack brushes him off though.

“I've been better.” he replied flatly. Jack tugs the slipping shirt back into place. Guilt and worry squirm in Pitch's stomach when he sees the red splotches decorating the light blue fabric and the pained expression that flickers over Jack's face. 

“Come on, the limo is waiting.” 

“I thought you were going to explain.”

“You're injured Jack. We'll head back, have Dr. Myers take a look at your arm, and then I'll explain what happened.”

Jack looks like he's thinking about arguing, or bolting, and Pitch readies himself to dash after him. But after a moment Jack lets out a long suffering sigh and shuffles forward.   
The walk back to the road is silent, and remains so until they've driven away and re-entered the city limits. 

“So what were you planning anyway?” Pitch finally asks. 

“What?” Jack responds tersely. 

“If you were really trying to escape from me, then why go to the lake? There are plenty of other hiding places, as well as ways you could have covered more ground more quickly.”

“Well, I knew with the microchip you'd be able to track me down no matter how far I went.” Jack pulls something out of his front pocket and holds it up for Pitch to see. The older man recognizes it as a pocket knife. “So I had to take care of that first.”

Pitch's eyes widen with shock. The chip may have been close to the surface; but removing with just a knife would have been quite painful, as well as dangerous.  
Though he realized now Jack may have been acting smarter than Pitch had given him credit for- Finding a place with several hiding spots, where his cries of pain wouldn't attract attention, and was somewhat close to a fairly busy highway so he could flag down an anonymous ride. There were certainly worse last minute plans. 

Unless this plan wasn't last minute.

Jack had probably come up with plans previously, in case things went sour, and he'd actually been about to follow through with one. In that moment the idiocy of creating a too real set up is firmly driven home in Pitch's mind.

Jack wasn't going to take the 'prank' thing well. Pitch made a mental note to remove the knife from Jack's person before explaining.

**Author's Note:**

> The original story has Jack's reaction to Pitch telling him it was a prank. So I figured that didn't need to be duplicated here. I'm glad this and the original drabble aren't cannon for the Mob Boss AU, because I'm not sure I could forgive Pitch for going through with something like this. :/ 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this little hypothetical. I also highly recommended charmed729 other works. :)


End file.
